The Virginia Wesleyan University baseball team (20-20) battled early and showed flashes offensively, but a big middle stretch from Randolph-Macon proved too much to overcome as the Marlins fell 10-4 in game two of the ODAC Championship opening round.
On the mound, Brandon Drewry started and pitched 1.1 innings, allowed five hits, five runs, and had one strikeout. Jacob Lawrence came in relief and pitched 5.0 innings, allowing five hits, and one run. Mason Sylvest finished the contest after pitching 1.2 innings, allowing four hits and four runs and recording two strikeouts.
Nick Valentin led the offense as he was 2-for-4 with two homers for three RBI. Joshua Jones went 2-for-5 at the plate, and teammate Marcell Whitfield was 1-for-4 with a double, scored one run, and had one RBI.
The Marlins wasted no time making a statement in the top of the first. After an error allowed Marcell Whitfield to reach, Nick Valentin delivered the early spark, launching a two-run homer to left that also brought Whitfield home. The swing gave Virginia Wesleyan a quick 2-0 advantage and immediate momentum.
Randolph-Macon answered in the bottom half and then surged ahead in the second, but the Marlins continued to chip away.
Virginia Wesleyan broke through again in the fifth inning with a well-manufactured run. Landon Carraway worked a leadoff walk and was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Darius Walston. After advancing to third on a groundout, Carraway came home when Whitfield ripped an RBI double to left field, trimming the deficit to 5-3 and injecting life back into the Marlins' dugout.
An inning later, Valentin struck again. The designated hitter stayed locked in at the plate, blasting his second home run of the game—this time a solo shot to left field—to pull Virginia Wesleyan within one at 5-4. At that point, the Marlins had all the momentum, turning the game into a tight battle midway through.
Despite the surge, the Marlins were unable to push across another run. Randolph-Macon regained control with a run in the seventh before breaking things open in the eighth inning.
